A rendering of WESTMINSTER CENTER...make that DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER...which is a New Urbanism-type redevelopment of WESTMINSTER MALL. Construction on Phase One of the project got underway in July 2016.
Drawing from http://www.downtownwestminster.us
The DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER site is served by Greater Denver's RTD Commuter Rail system. Service commenced on the 6.2 route mile Union Station-to-Westminster B Line in July 2016. Above is a panoramic view of the Westminster Station.
Photo from Wikipedia / Jeffrey Beall
We conclude our WESTMINSTER section with a site plan of the DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER project. Five structures in blue remain from the old mall; (1) J.C. Penney, (2) Brunswick bowling center, (3) US Bank, (4) Olive Garden restaurant and (5) a medical clinic.
Original drawing from http://www.downtownwestminster.us
West 88th Avenue and Harlan Street
Westminster, Colorado
Plans for Greater Denver's sixteenth shopping mall were announced in September 1975. At the time, the complex-to-be had not been given a name. Work on WESTMINSTER MALL commenced on May 11, 1976, The facility would be developed by Kansas City, Missouri's Frank Morgan and Sherman Dreiseszun, under the auspices of MD Management.
Consisting of a single retail level, the fully-enclosed mall would occupy a 118-acre plot, located 7 miles northwest of downtown Denver. The site, in suburban Westminster, was adjacent to the Denver-Boulder Turnpike-US 36 expressway.
WESTMINSTER MALL was developed in three stages, over a period of 17 years. Its first phase encompassed approximately 320,000 leasable square feet and seventy-eight stores and services. Denver-based Joslins anchored the original mall, with a 2-level (153,200 square foot) store. This was officially dedicated on February 20, 1977. A formal grand opening for the inline store section of the complex was held on September 29th.
Charter stores included Collins Shops ladies' wear, Bookwork Books, Fashion Bar, Pet Village, Air Step Shoes, The Cookie Factory, Tool Shack and Silver Eagle Traders. The American Multi-Cinema Westminster 6 Theatres had shown its first features on August 10, 1977. The American Multi-Cinema Westminster 5 was built, as freestanding structure, in the mall's west parking area. This multiplex was open for business by 1983.
A second construction phase, conducted between 1984 and 1987, enlarged the mall exponentially. Second, third, fourth and fifth anchors were built. The first of these, a 2-level (134,300 square foot), Phoenix-based Broadway Southwest, welcomed first shoppers on November 5, 1985. A 2-level (154,600 square foot), Denver-based May D & F was completed in September 1986.
A 1-level (76,000 square foot), Hayward, California-based Mervyn's debuted on October 17, 1986. The Mervyn's and Broadway Southwest stores were built as part of a new North Wing. It included a 16-bay Food Court and added fifty-seven inline stores to the mall directory.
The final segment of the expansion entailed construction of a 2-level (180,600 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened for business on March 18, 1987. With its completion, WESTMINSTER MALL spanned approximately 1,390,000 leasable square feet, contained 150 stores and services, and was the largest shopping mall in Greater Denver.
During its stellar early years, WESTMINSTER MALL had no sizable competitor. Malls in its vicinity ended up decimated by its presence. These included NORTH VALLEY CENTER (1968) {3.9 miles southeast, in Adams County}, NORTHGLENN MALL (1968) {3.8 miles northeast, in Adams County} and THORNTON TOWN CENTER (1989) {3.9 miles northeast, in Thornton}.
A fourth -and final- expansion of WESTMINSTER MALL added a 2-level (115,400 square foot) Montgomery Ward to the North Wing. The store, dedicated on October 29, 1993, brought the gross leasable area of the center to a whopping 1,505,400 square feet. The complex was now the only 6-anchor mall in the Centennial State.
The first anchor rebranding at WESTMINSTER MALL converted the May D & F store into a Houston-based Foley's. This transpired on May 2, 1993. The Broadway Southwest location was shuttered 3 years later. It re-opened, as a Sears, on September 28, 1996. Joslins, and its Mercantile Stores parent company, were absorbed into the Dillard's chain in 1998, with the WESTMINSTER location being rebranded as a Dillard's.
In 1999, plans for a hybrid enclosed mall and lifestyle center were announced. News of the prospective FLATIRON CROSSING {5.9 miles northwest, in Broomfield} sent shock waves through WESTMINSTER MALL management. A 10 million dollar remodeling was announced in August.
This renovation, funded by the City of Westminster and the Westminster Mall Company, got underway in January 2000. During the project, new skylights, interior landscaping and seating areas were installed. Moreover, mall entrances and Center Court were rebuilt. The new and improved WESTMINSTER MALL was officially re-dedicated on January 19, 2001.
FLATIRON CROSSING-THE VILLAGE was officially dedicated in August 2000. The shiny new shopping hub immediately put the hurt on WESTMINSTER MALL. An anchor exodus ensued. Montgomery Ward was shuttered in March 2001. Mervyn's pulled out of the mall (and Colorado) on January 21, 2006. Macy's, which had rebranded Foley's on September 9, 2006, closed their store in January 2009. Dillard's was demoted to a Clearance Center.
Adding insult to injury, another lifestyle-type complex entered the picture. THE ORCHARD TOWN CENTER {7.5 miles northeast, in Westminster} held its grand opening in April 2008. The fortunes of WESTMINSTER MALL, the once-mighty merchandising mecca, seemed bleak, indeed. Its owner, Kansas City, Missouri-based MD Management, acquired three of the center's vacant anchors in anticipation of a redevelopment of the "blighted property."
The majority of the mall was purchased by the Westminster Economic Development Authority. Its eighteen remaining inline stores were shuttered on May 11, 2011. Demolition commenced on July 23, 2011 and continued into the following October.
The Dillard's Clearance Center was shuttered in July 2011 and demolished soon after. Sears and J.C. Penney remained in business. The Brunswick Zone Bowling Arcade, a US Bank, Olive Garden restaurant and medical clinic were also left standing. Sears Holdings eventually decided to shutter their WESTMINSTER store. It closed in June 2012 and was soon bulldozed.
A new DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER was created from the rubble. This "unique, vibrant and genuine" project was implemented by Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates. Envisaged as a high-density, mixed-use "urban-style development," its first phase was completed in October 2019.
During its stellar early years, WESTMINSTER MALL had no sizable competitor. Malls in its vicinity ended up decimated by its presence. These included NORTH VALLEY CENTER (1968) {3.9 miles southeast, in Adams County}, NORTHGLENN MALL (1968) {3.8 miles northeast, in Adams County} and THORNTON TOWN CENTER (1989) {3.9 miles northeast, in Thornton}.
A fourth -and final- expansion of WESTMINSTER MALL added a 2-level (115,400 square foot) Montgomery Ward to the North Wing. The store, dedicated on October 29, 1993, brought the gross leasable area of the center to a whopping 1,505,400 square feet. The complex was now the only 6-anchor mall in the Centennial State.
The first anchor rebranding at WESTMINSTER MALL converted the May D & F store into a Houston-based Foley's. This transpired on May 2, 1993. The Broadway Southwest location was shuttered 3 years later. It re-opened, as a Sears, on September 28, 1996. Joslins, and its Mercantile Stores parent company, were absorbed into the Dillard's chain in 1998, with the WESTMINSTER location being rebranded as a Dillard's.
In 1999, plans for a hybrid enclosed mall and lifestyle center were announced. News of the prospective FLATIRON CROSSING {5.9 miles northwest, in Broomfield} sent shock waves through WESTMINSTER MALL management. A 10 million dollar remodeling was announced in August.
This renovation, funded by the City of Westminster and the Westminster Mall Company, got underway in January 2000. During the project, new skylights, interior landscaping and seating areas were installed. Moreover, mall entrances and Center Court were rebuilt. The new and improved WESTMINSTER MALL was officially re-dedicated on January 19, 2001.
FLATIRON CROSSING-THE VILLAGE was officially dedicated in August 2000. The shiny new shopping hub immediately put the hurt on WESTMINSTER MALL. An anchor exodus ensued. Montgomery Ward was shuttered in March 2001. Mervyn's pulled out of the mall (and Colorado) on January 21, 2006. Macy's, which had rebranded Foley's on September 9, 2006, closed their store in January 2009. Dillard's was demoted to a Clearance Center.
Adding insult to injury, another lifestyle-type complex entered the picture. THE ORCHARD TOWN CENTER {7.5 miles northeast, in Westminster} held its grand opening in April 2008. The fortunes of WESTMINSTER MALL, the once-mighty merchandising mecca, seemed bleak, indeed. Its owner, Kansas City, Missouri-based MD Management, acquired three of the center's vacant anchors in anticipation of a redevelopment of the "blighted property."
The majority of the mall was purchased by the Westminster Economic Development Authority. Its eighteen remaining inline stores were shuttered on May 11, 2011. Demolition commenced on July 23, 2011 and continued into the following October.
The Dillard's Clearance Center was shuttered in July 2011 and demolished soon after. Sears and J.C. Penney remained in business. The Brunswick Zone Bowling Arcade, a US Bank, Olive Garden restaurant and medical clinic were also left standing. Sears Holdings eventually decided to shutter their WESTMINSTER store. It closed in June 2012 and was soon bulldozed.
A new DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER was created from the rubble. This "unique, vibrant and genuine" project was implemented by Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates. Envisaged as a high-density, mixed-use "urban-style development," its first phase was completed in October 2019.
DOWNTOWN WESTMINSTER included Bowlero Westminster (a renovated Brunswick Zone Bowling Arcade), Famille Restaurant, the Tattered Cover Bookstore, Sweet Bloom Coffee and an Alamo Draft House cinema-restaurant. In addition, there was 650,000 square feet of leased office space, 373 residential units and public green space, all layed out on a city street grid.
Sources:
The Denver Post
The Denver Post
The Broomfield Enterprise (Broomfield, Colorado)
The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado)
https://digital.denverlibrary.org
http://www.labelscar.com/ / Article posted by "Prange Way" with assistance by Jacob Dougherty
http://www.shopwestminstermall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://propertysearch.jeffco.us / Jefferson County, Colorado
http://www.rtd-fastracks.com / Regional Transportation District
http://www.westminstercenter.us
http://www.downtownwestminster.us
http://www.sherman-associates.com
http://www.shopwestminstermall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://propertysearch.jeffco.us / Jefferson County, Colorado
http://www.rtd-fastracks.com / Regional Transportation District
http://www.westminstercenter.us
http://www.downtownwestminster.us
http://www.sherman-associates.com
